On the Behavior of Bauxite Tailings under a Wide Range of Stresses
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsThe paper il well written and I recommend it for publication. Noverthless, I suggest that authors do some minor revision:
1) the introduction ought to contain some possible application of bauxite tailings (for instance any reference of bauxite tailings as construction materials, secondary raw material, or whatnot). Perhaps, a few of this references could be added, if the authors would find them valuable to their paper:
Vikash Singh, Samreen Bano, Vinay Bhushan Chauhan, Priyaranjan Pal, Anil Kumar, Jyoti Bhushan Srivastava,Red mud as a sustainable road construction material: An experimental investigation,Construction and Building Materials,Volume 411,2024,134549,
R.S. Nascimento, J.A.M. Corrêa, B.A.M. Figueira, P.A. Pinheiro, J.H. Silva, P.T.C. Freire, S. Quaranta,From mining waste to environmetal remediation: a nanoadsorbent from Amazon bauxite tailings for the removal of erythrosine B dye,Applied Clay Science,Volume 222,2022,106482,
Afonso R.G. de Azevedo, Markssuel T. Marvila, Marco A.B. de Oliveira, Carlos E.M. Umbuzeiro, Noemi R.C. Huaman, Sergio N. Monteiro, Perspectives for the application of bauxite wastes in the development of alternative building materials, Journal of Materials Research and Technology, Volume 20, 2022, Pages 3114-3125, ISSN 2238-7854,
Ou X, Chen S, Jiang J, Qin J, Zhang L. Reuse of Red Mud and Bauxite Tailings Mud as Subgrade Materials from the Perspective of Mechanical Properties. Materials. 2022; 15(3):1123. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15031123
These papers are just examples, it goes without saying that a all hodgepodge of papers can be chosen,
2) The scope of the paper should be clarified a bit more in the introduction
3) concerning technical part, was tailings composition determined how?, XRF, ICP? such information should be included
4) were specific surface area measurements carried out? SSA may affect mechanical properties. Same for water content of the tailings. Therefore, I recommend IF POSSIBLE, to add this characterization.
5) finally, i would include in the conclusion something relating mechanical properties to intrinsic characteristic of red mud (for instance particle size)
In summary, i think that with these "tweaks" (especially point 5) the paper can be improved and certainly published
Comments on the Quality of English Language
English is fine, even id I amn not one hundred percent competent to judge it.
Author Response
Reviewer 1
The paper is well written and I recommend it for publication. Noverthless, I suggest that authors do some minor revision:
Thank you for your thoughtful comments and valuable suggestions on our manuscript. Your insights have significantly contributed to improving the quality of our work. We appreciate your time and effort in reviewing our study.
1) the introduction ought to contain some possible application of bauxite tailings (for instance any reference of bauxite tailings as construction materials, secondary raw material, or whatnot). Perhaps, a few of this references could be added, if the authors would find them valuable to their paper:
Vikash Singh, Samreen Bano, Vinay Bhushan Chauhan, Priyaranjan Pal, Anil Kumar, Jyoti Bhushan Srivastava,Red mud as a sustainable road construction material: An experimental investigation,Construction and Building Materials,Volume 411,2024,134549,
R.S. Nascimento, J.A.M. Corrêa, B.A.M. Figueira, P.A. Pinheiro, J.H. Silva, P.T.C. Freire, S. Quaranta,From mining waste to environmetal remediation: a nanoadsorbent from Amazon bauxite tailings for the removal of erythrosine B dye,Applied Clay Science,Volume 222,2022,106482,
Afonso R.G. de Azevedo, Markssuel T. Marvila, Marco A.B. de Oliveira, Carlos E.M. Umbuzeiro, Noemi R.C. Huaman, Sergio N. Monteiro, Perspectives for the application of bauxite wastes in the development of alternative building materials, Journal of Materials Research and Technology, Volume 20, 2022, Pages 3114-3125, ISSN 2238-7854,
Ou X, Chen S, Jiang J, Qin J, Zhang L. Reuse of Red Mud and Bauxite Tailings Mud as Subgrade Materials from the Perspective of Mechanical Properties. Materials. 2022; 15(3):1123. https://doi.org/10.3390/ma15031123
These papers are just examples, it goes without saying that a all hodgepodge of papers can be chosen,
The authors think these references are valuable within the context of the present manuscript. They have been added to the paper in the lasts paragraphs of the introduction.
2) The scope of the paper should be clarified a bit more in the introduction.
We have altered the last paragraph of the Introduction, giving more details about the tests that were carried out in order to clarify the scope of the study.
“The present work evaluates the mechanical response of bauxite tailings under effective confining pressures ranging from 25 kPa to 4,000 kPa, analyzing the results in light of the Critical State Soil Mechanics [15,16]. This path is associated with a stress range capable of emulating conditions in real bauxite tailings dams. Possible fabric-related effects were assessed by comparing the response of undisturbed samples to the behavior of remolded specimens. The possibility of grain breakage was also investigated for some specimens. Overall, this study provides a valuable (and novel) framework for modeling the behavior of structured and de-structured bauxite tailings, which is of prime im-portance for safely designing and maintaining bauxite tailings dams.”
3) concerning technical part, was tailings composition determined how?, XRF, ICP? such information should be included
As requested, we have added the references used to conduct the XRF and XRD test. Please check the materials section.
4) were specific surface area measurements carried out? SSA may affect mechanical properties. Same for water content of the tailings. Therefore, I recommend IF POSSIBLE, to add this characterization.
Unfortunately, we were not able to conduct such a test owing to budget restrictions. Nevertheless, the authors agree that it provides vital information for understanding the interaction between the tailings grains and water.
5) finally, i would include in the conclusion something relating mechanical properties to intrinsic characteristic of red mud (for instance particle size)
In summary, i think that with these "tweaks" (especially point 5) the paper can be improved and certainly published
As requested, we have improved the conclusions. Please check.
Reviewer 2 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsIn the abstract its necessary to include, the relevance of these results, what is the contribution of the research?
Improve results discution.
In conclusións mention the impact of resecarch its not clear.
In the conclusións mentioned the impact of resecarch, because its nor clear
I attached PDF file with my comments.
Comments for author File: 
Comments.pdf
Author Response
Reviewer 2
Thank you for your insightful comments and helpful suggestions. Your feedback has greatly enhanced the quality of our manuscript.
1) In the abstract its necessary to include, the relevance of these results, what is the contribution of the research?
As requested, we have added the relevance and contribution of the present research in the introduction section.
2) Improve results discution.
As requested, we have improved the discussion of the results. Please check.
3) In the conclusións mentioned the impact of resecarch, because its nor clear
The impact of the present research in the conclusions. In summary, there is an indication of bonded structure in intact specimens which strengthens and stiffens the material. Particles got finer after testing. All but three tests converged to a curved critical state line was observed in the volumetric plane v: ln p’. Those three were intact specimens shearing under lower stresses and exhibited dilatant behavior, confirming the possible existence of bonds.
4) Whats does mean the acronym CIU and CID, write the significancy.
CIU means Isotropically Consolidated Undrained and CID means Isotrpically Consolidated Drained. As requested, we have added the definition.
5) In the abstract its necessary to include, the relevance of these results, what is the contribution of the research?.
As requested, we have improved the abstract.
6) The line 29 mention that was characterized the bauxite tailings but are not mrenioned the analisys thas was done.
We have addressed this issue.
“ The after-shearing grain size distribution was, as well, characterized via sedimentation analysis.”
7) Its importan mention the relevance of the research, are not indicated.
The authors have highlighted the relevance of the research in the introduction section. Please check.
Reviewer 3 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsThis is the review manuscript entitled “On the Behavior of Bauxite Tailings under a Wide Range of Stresses”. The paper need to revised carefully based on the following major comments.
1. The abstract needs to be rewritten carefully based on detailed results.
2. The literature review is not enough. The latest research works needs to cited and discussed in the introduction. Please revise the text carefully.
3. The novelty of the paper is not clear to me. You must highlight your novelty in the last paragraph of the introduction, which needs a good literature review.
4. Please add a subsection for your case study. Add a geographical map, geological settings, tailing dam photo and specifications, and so on.
5. Before explaining test, you must add a subsection for designing the required test. Give a brief explanation of what you did in this paper (two or three lines would be enough).
6. Add some photos of your prepared samples, and tests. For instance, you must add your compression tests samples before and after tests, apparatus. What was the rate of the compression test? For other tests, such as triaxial and Atterberg limit, you must add similar things.
7. A real discussion needs to be added to the revised version.
Author Response
Reviewer 3
This is the review manuscript entitled “On the Behavior of Bauxite Tailings under a Wide Range of Stresses”. The paper need to revised carefully based on the following major comments.
We sincerely appreciate your thorough review and the valuable comments and suggestions you provided. Your feedback has been instrumental in refining and improving our manuscript. We are grateful for the time and effort you invested in helping us enhance the quality of our work. Thank you for your thoughtful insights and constructive critique.
- The abstract needs to be rewritten carefully based on detailed results.
As requested, the abstract has been revised and rewritten.
- The literature review is not enough. The latest research works needs to cited and discussed in the introduction. Please revise the text carefully.
We have added an additional paragraph to the introduction to contextualize the studies regarding bauxite tailings. Please check
- The novelty of the paper is not clear to me. You must highlight your novelty in the last paragraph of the introduction, which needs a good literature review.
As requested, we have highlighted the main contribution (and novelty) of the paper in the last paragraph of the introduction.
- Please add a subsection for your case study. Add a geographical map, geological settings, tailing dam photo and specifications, and so on.
The authors found this an excellent suggestion. Nevertheless, the mining company did not authorize us to provide specific details about the dam where the tailings were collected, including pictures, map, location…
- Before explaining test, you must add a subsection for designing the required test. Give a brief explanation of what you did in this paper (two or three lines would be enough).
The authors have included a brief explanation to contextualize the importance of each test (1-D compression and triaxial compression) before describing the test.
- Add some photos of your prepared samples, and tests. For instance, you must add your compression tests samples before and after tests, apparatus. What was the rate of the compression test? For other tests, such as triaxial and Atterberg limit, you must add similar things.
As requested, a few pictures were added. Please check.
As mentioned in the triaxial test section, the shearing rate in the triaxial compression was 4 mm per hour. The loading rate in the 1-D compression followed the procedures stated by the ASTM D2435 standard.
All the tests were conducted following the mentioned procedures.
- A real discussion needs to be added to the revised version.
As requested, the discussion of the results has been improved within each section. Please check.
Round 2
Reviewer 1 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsI am completely satisfied with the revisions authors have done
Reviewer 3 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsI checked all my comments, I believe that all of them were addressed appropriately in the revised version. As a result, I am pleased to inform you that this article's version deserves ti be published in the Mining.
